An inmate walks through the yard at the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio, U.S., on Wednessday, June 15, 2011. As Ohio tries to close an $8 billion budget shortfall, it's trying something no other state has by selling the prisons and land to raise an estimated $200 million and seeking offers for the buyer or another company to operate them. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Inmates Hacked Their Prison From Inside With Makeshift Computers

A penitentiary in Ohio was hacked by two inmates using spare parts found inside the prison, a report from the state’s Inspector General published Tuesday revealed.

The inmates penetrated the prison’s network to download porn and commit more crime, applying for credit cards using the information they acquired via the hack.

Correction officers at the Marion Correctional Institution found the makeshift computers hidden above the ceiling panels of a utility closet. The IT department noticed was tipped off to the network intrusion by a surge in daily usage by a computer on site and alerts of unsuccessful attempts to breach the network controls, according to Quartz.

Scott Spriggs and Adam Johnston were eventually discovered to be responsible for the hacks after an investigation in 2015, but the inmates had been using the DIY-computer for months without detection.

In that time, they were able to hack into the state’s inmate tracking system and steal at least one inmate’s social security number to apply for multiple credit cards. The report also detailed how the inmates used the computers to create passes for restricted areas in the prison and research ways to commit fraud online.